Page 38 of Unknown

Then, he shut that memory away.

Up until now, he’d been an ordinary guy, leading a fairly simple life. He’d enjoyed it, but maybe, deep down, he’d always felt there was something missing. Now, weirdly, he thought he’d found it. He’d discovered an inner strength he never knew he possessed in his activities helping Cora on her cases.

He’d discovered a passion for helping find the truth, for rooting out killers, that he’d never realized he possessed. He felt as if his calling lay in this direction and that from here, he knew the road he must take. He must train, he must get licensed, he must become a PI in his own right so that he could be a true partner to her.

That was a new, burning goal, but it was one that still lay in the future.

For now, they were on a case, and had an evil killer to catch. And that killer might just be Donnie.

Whose girlfriend worked for the diner and might or might not be here.

He pushed open the glass door leading into the diner, with the smell of coffee and toast and grilled bacon filling the air inside. The diner was about half-full, and he didn't see any customers who looked like they were in the Army. There were two families, a couple, a table with three women, and a businessman on his own.

He walked up to the counter and asked the server, "Excuse me, do you know a girl named Pauline who works here?"

She gave him a distracted glance. "Pauline? She's not here yet. She'll probably still be upstairs."

Upstairs?

For a moment, Gabe felt confused as he smiled automatically and thanked her. What did she mean by that?

Then, he realized. There was a row of small apartments above the diner, and presumably, Pauline - and maybe one or two other workers - lived there. Perhaps accommodation was a perk of the job. In any case, she'd felt comfortable enough with his friendly demeanor and innocent question to tell him something that was hugely valuable.

Now he knew where she lived.

He strolled out of the diner. The apartment buildings had their balconies on this side, overlooking the main street, but he guessed that their entrance doors were at the back of the building. So that was where he'd need to go.

Four apartments, four balconies, four possibilities to find Pauline and hopefully find Donnie, too, if he was at home with her.

He made his way to the back of the building and found the entrance door.

It was locked, but he noticed that it was also the back entrance to the diner itself. There were four numbered parking bays. Two were empty. In one, a small Fiat was parked. And in another, an elderly Mazda was parked, with a big Jeep behind it. The kind of car that a guy might borrow if he was coming off base to see his girl.

The Jeep was parked behind parking bay number three. So he was guessing that apartment three was going to be Pauline's. As he was standing there considering his options, the door opened and a cleaner, with her arms full of dustbin bags, came out and headed for a dumpster that was positioned behind a barrier wall.

Gabe courteously held the door open for her, receiving a nod of thanks. Then he went through it. He headed to the stairs and walked up.

Already, when he got to the second floor, he could hear there was trouble. Shouted voices, and the high, angry cries of a woman, were coming from the third door.

Quickly, Gabe moved forward.

Inside apartment three, people were having a massive fight. He heard thumps, a man's furious shout, a woman's scream.

Damn it, this was more than likely Pauline's apartment. Donnie had sounded like a trouble causer. And he had to do something. He had to break up this fight. But first, he needed to alert Cora.

Quickly, he called her, feeling relieved when she picked up almost immediately.

"Listen, this is an emergency. I'm at her address. Something's wrong. They’re having a huge fight inside, and I’m going to have to try to break it up. How soon can you get here?"

"I'm going to try to get there now," Cora said. She cut the call immediately.

Gabe didn't know how long she would take, but he knew he had to act, now, to stop this fight.

He hammered on the door with his fist.

"Open up! Hey, whoever's in there! Open up!"

There was no answer, and the noise of the fight didn't lessen. If anything, it worsened, and he knew that if a fight had reached a stage where neither party was listening for the front door, then it was serious. Pauline could get hurt.

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